Bridge Over Troubled Water
by MadDogLucario96
Summary: Redone epilogue from the end of Tamers. What if the epilogue was four years after the Digimon were sent back to the Digital World? How will Takato and friends have changed in that time? One rainy day in the park brings them closer together. Named after the Simon and Garfunkel song of the same name.


**Switching things up a little by doing a Tamers one-shot for a change. Hope you guys enjoy it.**

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The rain pelted against the slick material of Takato Matsuki's raincoat as he wandered along the paved paths of Shinjuku's Chou Park. The hood over his head covered his light brown hair from getting wet, but the chilly winds nipped at his face on this cool, rainy April morning. At sixteen years old, Takato found himself looking more and more like his father by the day. Now in high school, he didn't know where his future was headed. One thing kept resonating in his mind as he walked around the park.

Four years. It had been four years.

Four years since he and his friends had the adventure of a lifetime. It all started the day that Takato's drawing of a Digimon he created named Guilmon had come to life. From there, things were never the same for the Digimon Tamers.

The six of them endured battles with wild Digimon called Devas, the loss of a comrade, and surviving the Digital World by coming back in one piece. But that was not where the adventure stopped. Upon returning to the real world, an entity called the D-Reaper appeared in the real world and almost destroyed all of Tokyo. Luckily that had been avoided as the Tamers managed to defeat it, but at the cost of their Digimon partners. Because of the program used to destroy the D-Reaper, the Digimon could no longer stay in the real world and were sent back to the Digital World. Many tears were shed on that day, and it never got easier with the passage of time.

'_Man, those were some crazy days,' _he chuckled to himself. Even so, he wouldn't trade them for anything.

Life became boring once again after the Digimon disappeared. He and his friends slowly drifted apart once they got into middle school because of how spread out they were. Takato had been accepted into a middle school in Nerima while most of the others stayed in Shinjuku, so he didn't get a chance to see them except on rare occasions. When taking high school entrance exams, he decided to come back to Shinjuku. He was accepted into a school not too far from his home, but was dismayed to find out his friends had again been spread out. Kazu and Kenta were the only ones he saw with somewhat regularity, but that was it.

When Takato looked up, he found himself in front of a familiar place. A large grey shed with an iron gate in front of the entrance acting as a door. All the memories of this place came surging back to him. This was the place that had acted as Guilmon's home when he was in the real world.

The young male walked up the short flight of stone steps that led up to the entrance of the shed. He thinned his lips as he examined every detail of the dark damp interior that smelled like rainwater. At the back of the shed was a large hole that went deep into the ground.

"Hey, Guilmon," he whispered. "It's me. I hope you're doing fine, wherever you are. I miss you more than ever, boy. I wish there was a way that I could bring you all back here so that we could get back to the way things were. Things shouldn't have ended the way they did."

"Takato!" a male voice called out to him.

Takato turned to see another boy about the same age as him standing at the bottom of the steps. His skin tone was darker than Takato's, giving away his mixed ancestry along with his navy blue tinted hair. He wore a black rain jacket that was zipped down just enough to reveal his school uniform: a white dress shirt and a tie with green and gold stripes on it. His tan slacks were dotted with raindrops, but he didn't seem to care. His grey eyes were so deep that Takato could swear he was looking into his very soul.

"Henry," Takato smiled at the boy. "Long time, no see. What are you doing here?"

Henry Wong shrugged his shoulders as he gazed at his old friend. "I was in the neighborhood and had a feeling you would be here," he said. "Mind if I come on up?"

"Of course. Don't be a stranger."

Henry, compared to Takato, was much more reserved, thoughtful, and philosophical. When he was a Tamer, the last thing he wanted to do was willingly get into a fight. This was because he almost beat the crap out of another kid for making fun of the fact he was half Chinese from his father. It was something he had put up with for so long that it came out in one violent outburst. After that, he began learning tai chi from a friend of his father and committed himself to non-violence. He was going to an elite high school in Shibuya and was too focused on his schoolwork to hang out.

"Boy, this sure brings back some memories," said Henry once he stepped in front of the shed. "Can't believe it's been this long. Even though I know he's not there, I keep waiting for Terriermon to pop out and tell me to 'momentai' sometimes."

The two friends almost doubled over laughing. Just the mere mention of Henry's Digimon partner was enough to send them into hysterics. The little dog-rabbit Digimon was always quick to make a smart aleck remark or good for a laugh when they needed it.

As the two traded some of their favorite stories about their times as Tamers, they had neglected to notice someone else joining them.

"Nice to see you two goofballs never change," a snarky female voice said.

The two boys looked behind them to see a girl with flaming red hair that was tied up in a pineapple bun standing with her arms folded across the grey blazer of her school uniform. The bright orange highlights gave her hair the appearance of a beautiful sunrise. Her figure was nice and slim, but she was not a dainty thing by any stretch of the imagination. Despite her gorgeous appearance, her violet eyes were narrowed in a way that made anyone who encountered her think she was judging every little thing they did. The grey skirt that served as part of her uniform revealed long toned legs like those of a supermodel's.

"Rika!" the two boys greeted. Takato wrapped her into a hug, which made the girl seize up for a moment. After a few seconds, she finally relaxed and returned the embrace.

"How are you?" asked Takato, barely containing his excitement of seeing her.

"Eh, fine," said Rika with a shrug of her shoulders. She was attending an all-girls school in Bunkyo and was not one to initiate offering to hang out, which was why Takato had seen less of her over the years. Even so, she was still a stunner to any man who gazed upon her. "I had the day off from school today so I thought I'd go for a walk. Never did I expect to see you two idiots here today."

"Idiots?!" Takato and Henry protested, offended at the nickname.

"Man, you're still as cuddly as a porcupine," Takato shot.

"And you're still a gogglehead." Rika fired right back, though the tiniest crack of a smile began to show. Despite her no-nonsense, crusty exterior, she had a heart of gold and was fiercely loyal to anyone that earned her trust.

Rika peered into the shed for a second. "I wonder what Renamon's doing right now," she said. "I hope she hasn't forgotten me."

"I don't think that's happened," Takato assured her. "I'm sure she's thinking of you right now just like you're thinking of her. I think they're all thinking of us."

Rika's smile grew a little wider. Though Takato could be an idiotic gogglehead sometimes, his heart was usually in the right place and he knew what to say in times like these. For that, she appreciated his presence and couldn't imagine what it would have been like without him.

"You may be right about that, Takato," she said. "Sometimes I think I can sense Renamon's presence in times where I need strength."

"Hey, chumley!"

Rika rolled her eyes as she groaned at the sound of the obnoxious voice. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard to her simply because of who it belonged to. She muttered a curse in Japanese as the three of them turned at the newcomer.

"Kazu!" Takato smiled as his old friend came up the hill.

Kazu Shioda had a skater-boy personality: very laid back, didn't take many things seriously, and was always on the prowl for something adventurous to do. Some may call him thickheaded, arrogant, and narcissistic, but he had a good heart, which made up for many of his less-wonderful qualities. He wore the same school uniform as Takato but still kept his trademark Oakland Raiders visor and spiky light-brown, almost tan, hair.

"And don't forget me," said another boy alongside Kazu. This one wore glasses and was considerably shorter than most of the other Tamers. His name was Kenta Kitagawa. He was a mole-faced boy with a more hesitant personality compared to Kazu, who was buoyant and extroverted.

"Good to see you guys," Takato greeted them both with a bro hug for each. Rika watched them scornfully, which Kazu immediately noticed.

"Well, well, look who's here," he smirked, eyeing her up and down. "How's it goin', Rika? Been a long time since I've laid eyes on your lovely face and perfect body."

"You utter those words again, and I will remove your reason for being male in two seconds," she snarled, glaring at him. If looks could kill, he would be dead. "Don't think I won't do it."

Kazu shrugged it off with a scoff. "I see you still haven't changed much. You're still as cuddly as a porcupine."

"That's what I said," Takato laughed. "Where's Ryo?"

"He's going to a high school in Kyoto, remember?" replied Kazu. "Man, chumley. You sure got out of touch with things when you went to Nerima for middle school."

Ryo Akiyama was another one of their friends that they had met when they went to the Digital World. The boy was a legend within the realm of the Digimon card game that the Tamers enjoyed so much. He was the only one to have defeated Rika at one point and disappeared not long after. Kazu and Kenta were huge fans of his and fawned all over him when they finally met him. He had developed into a reliable ally during the D-Reaper saga, and became good friends with them all.

Upon hearing his name, Rika snorted a short exhale from her nose.

"Whatever," she turned her nose away. "As if I would care what that loser is doing."

"Guess all that we're missing now is Jeri," said Henry, noting the only other member of their group yet to show up. "If I have any indication, she should be arriving soon."

The mood turned somber for a moment. Kazu, Kenta, and Takato's faces fell upon hearing Jeri's name.

"What?" Henry remarked, wondering what he did wrong.

"You didn't hear, did you?" Takato said, heaving a sad sigh. "Jeri's in Hokkaido for school now. She needed to go somewhere to begin anew and thought that Hokkaido was the place for her to do that."

"Oh," Henry's face fell. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Takato gave him an assuring smile. "It's okay, Henry. I was the one who encouraged her to do it. She's doing much better now."

Henry and Rika smiled slightly, thankful that Jeri was doing well. The girl appeared happy and exuberant on the outside, but it was just a mask to cover a lifetime of pain. Her mother died when she was very young, and her father became distant and treated her like she was a burden while she was growing up. When she became a Tamer, things looked like they were going up for her until her partner, Leomon, was killed by Beelzemon. After that, she just shut down and became the ship for the D-Reaper to invade the real world. Eventually, the group was able to get her back and life went on like normal.

"I'm just glad that she's doing okay," said Rika. "She deserves it more than any of us."

Her male teammates nodded in agreement. The five of them sat around and relived old memories, both good and bad, for what felt like hours. They were just happy to finally be together after drifting apart for so long, but it never felt like they were long lost acquaintances; rather it felt like old friends picking up right where they left off.

"I'll see you guys later," said Henry as he left the park to go catch his train to Shibuya from Shinjuku station.

"See ya, Henry," Takato called after him before he, Kazu, and Kenta exited too. He smiled. It was just like old times between them.

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**Consider this an alternate epilogue to the series. Nothing wrong with the one we got, but I just figured they could have also done something like this. This of course ignores the Runaway Locomon movie, which is honestly one of the better specials that they did for Digimon as a whole if you ask me. **

**Hope you guys enjoyed that. I'm testing the waters to see if I have any potential for doing a Tamers version of the Destined Jedi trilogy in the future, so make sure to give me plenty of feedback on characterization and stuff. If the response is good, I will probably do more one-shots for Tamers and turn this into a collection. **

**As always, leave a review and I will see you all soon. **


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